Kim Jong Un EXECUTES new airport architect - because he didn't like the design

North Korea’s propaganda machine has spent days promoting a new airport in Pyongyang, showcasing the building’s sleek glass walls

Unhappy: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) smiles next to his wife Ri Sol Ju as he gives field guidance at the new terminal of Pyongyang International Airport (Photo: Reuters)

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We can all have problems with builders.

But when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un showed off his country’s newest building he failed to mention that it seems its chief architect was executed because Kim didn’t like the design.

North Korea’s propaganda machine has spent days promoting a new airport in Pyongyang, showcasing the building’s sleek glass walls and espresso stations.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency published a 30-photo slide show last week of Kim Jong Un and his wife touring a two story international terminal in Pyongyang’s airport.

The project is the country’s latest bid to appeal to potential tourists since Kim ascended to power in North Korea three years ago and features a jewellery store, coffee bar, a pharmacy, a chocolate fountain and other luxury amenities.

“Defects were manifested in the last phase of the construction of the Terminal 2 because the designers failed to bear in mind the party’s idea of architectural beauty that is the life and soul and core in architecture to preserve the character and national identity,” Kim said, according to NKNews’ transcript of a state media report.

“It is necessary to finish the construction of the terminal to be an icon of [North] Korea, the face of the country and the gateway to Pyongyang.”

It’s not clear where North Korea - a country ravaged by regular famines and fuel shortages - got the cash to build the new airport.